Hot Topics:

Black-and-white stripes are the new orange

The Associated Press

Posted:
07/21/2014 07:48:33 AM MDT

Click photo to enlarge

Corrections Officer Terence Moore frisks an inmate before the inmate meets with his attorney at the Saginaw County Jail, Friday, July 18, 2014 in Saginaw, Mich. The Saginaw County Sheriff's Department has purchased new jumpsuits, with black and white stripes, for some of the inmates at the jail. (AP Photo/The Saginaw News/MLive.com, Jeff Schrier)

SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan sheriff says he's trading his inmates' orange jumpsuits for black-and-white stripes, in part due to pop culture.

Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel tells The Saginaw News (http://bit.ljaily/1p7egTU ) that all-orange jumpsuits are increasingly viewed as fashionable, especially because they're seen on popular TV shows such as the Netflix smash hit "Orange Is the New Black."

Federspiel says "some people think it's cool to look like an inmate of the Saginaw County Jail ... wearing all orange jumpsuits out at the mall or in public." He says inmates sometimes work in public, and he doesn't want there to be any confusion.

Inmates wearing a mix of orange and striped jumpsuits are lodged in a cell at the Saginaw County Jail, Friday, July 18, 2014 in Saginaw, Mich. The Saginaw County Sheriff's Department has purchased new jumpsuits, with black and white stripes, for some of the inmates at the jail. (AP Photo/The Saginaw News/MLive.com, Jeff Schrier) (Jeff Schrier/AP)

The jailhouse fashions come relatively cheap. The sheriff says the jumpsuits, which last for about two to three years, cost $11.73 apiece.

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.